Sorry if I was confusing. I did indeed mean the rest of the truck, not the 7.3 engine itself. I work on a farm during the time off from landscaping season and every single pickup is diesel. Oldest is a 96, newest a 2010 duramax. The 96 and 02 and 03 are starting to get those stupid problems. One week its a pitman/idler arm. Next week its brake lines. Next week its steering box. Then ball joints. Yes, its cheaper to maintain an older truck than to hoof $5-600 payments. But if you are in the situation where you don't have another truck to fall back on, a simple breakdown like a rotted brake line can cost you a good portion of a days work. Each has its ups and downs I suppose.

if anyone here thinks they are saving money by spending 30,000 on newer truck with lower mileage so that way they don't have to rebuild a front end or do some u-joints you, need to learn simple math. It is proven it is cheaper to buy a well maintained 15 or 16 year old truck especially for work and just rebuild or replace whatever needs it then go with a newer truck with a warranty and lower miles. I picked up my truck for 3500 body is 7-10 has small dings and dents, very little rust, and overall in good condition, it needed a tranny for 2,000 because i didn't know that a sensor wasn't function properly so i just kept driving it. do i regret it not one bit, was it worth absolutely, it needed a front end a year and half later, its worth every penny, especially for what the truck has made me so far, i'm still not even into this truck for 10,000 yet and its never left me stranded anywhere. I was towing 10,000lbs + on a weekly basis with it. not once in a while, it needed a new hitch because the old rotted out, there's another 350 dollars still a very good truck at a reasonable price. my truck needed a passenger side caliper, so I did both sides, and now they have a life time warranty, along with my brake pads. not a bad deal if you ask me, and the parts were dirt cheap, and i haven't had to replace them yet.

would you buy this truck for 3500, I sure would any day of the week. with those very tires on it I used to get 19mpg all highway and 16 highway, city with towing mixed in there.

I would say go for it buy the 97 7.3 f450 and don't look back try to talk the guy down 1500 but if its as clean as my truck or cleaner, and needs nothing, he may not budge more then 500 dollars if any, but good luck and remember you can get quality used trucks for under 10,000 that are perfectly reliable and will make the same amount of money as newer much more expensive truck.

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My last 4 truck purchases in order of MY:

'02 had about 56K with the 7.3
'99 had about 61K with the 7.3
'95 had 22K with a 5.9 Cummins
'93 had 48K with a 8.3 Cummins

A warranty on a truck or plow doesn't mean squat to me at 3 AM in the middle of a blizzard. That piece of paper does not plow or salt the lots. It does not make my customer happy with the service I committed to provide them with. Yes, it may save me money at the end of the storm, but that doesn't do anything for me when I really need it.

I would much rather spend money on a good, used truck that has less computers on it and is dependable, than something like my last 3 that I bought brand new and have spent far more money on and have let me down more times than the older ones combined.

Yes, I own 3 6.0s.

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'02 had about 56K with the 7.3
'99 had about 61K with the 7.3
'95 had 22K with a 5.9 Cummins
'93 had 48K with a 8.3 Cummins

A warranty on a truck or plow doesn't mean squat to me at 3 AM in the middle of a blizzard. That piece of paper does not plow or salt the lots. It does not make my customer happy with the service I committed to provide them with. Yes, it may save me money at the end of the storm, but that doesn't do anything for me when I really need it.

I would much rather spend money on a good, used truck that has less computers on it and is dependable, than something like my last 3 that I bought brand new and have spent far more money on and have let me down more times than the older ones combined.

Yes, I own 3 6.0s.

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That should be explained to a lot of people who NEED the new truck. You can usually find some great deals on used trucks which are just as, if not more, reliable than a new one.

'02 had about 56K with the 7.3
'99 had about 61K with the 7.3
'95 had 22K with a 5.9 Cummins
'93 had 48K with a 8.3 Cummins

A warranty on a truck or plow doesn't mean squat to me at 3 AM in the middle of a blizzard. That piece of paper does not plow or salt the lots. It does not make my customer happy with the service I committed to provide them with. Yes, it may save me money at the end of the storm, but that doesn't do anything for me when I really need it.

I would much rather spend money on a good, used truck that has less computers on it and is dependable, than something like my last 3 that I bought brand new and have spent far more money on and have let me down more times than the older ones combined.

Yes, I own 3 6.0s.

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I like 6.0's they need to have the heads studded, egr deleted, and they need a sct tuner installed asap, and that will make the tranny last a long time, and the truck will be a work horse like 7.3's are and probably get better fuel economy. They need to not be babied too, that is a serious issue, which causes turbo's to fail, my buddy hasn't plugged his 6.0 ever he bought it new in 05 and now has 160,000 on it. truck was driven every day up until last january. now it stays hooked up to 14' dump trailer until it snows

v10 motor, probably not gonna be very friendly fuel wise, and not sure on the longevity of those v10's i would just go with a diesel if you can, don't look for low mileage like that either, i wouldn't buy something that was sitting so much, I would go with 100,000+ mileage means, It wasn't always in the repair shop or down and broken. when you do find a diesel truck, ask about the maintenance.

what kind of serious regular maintenance do f450s and f350s require?
for example, i know my tundra needs the timing belt/ water pump replaced around 100K. things like that

thank you very much

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fuel filters, every 2 or 3 oil changes, oil changes, every 4-5000 miles, my water pump is still oem on my truck with 272,000 miles. might replace it sooner then later though its about 300 to have someone else to do, not at the dealer or a repair shop. ball joints, u-joints, tie rods, track arm bushings, brake pads, calipers if you let the truck sit for long periods of time. nothing out of the ordinary.